15 Agents of Change in Medtech: No. 9 MC10

No. 9: MC10

Stretching the boundaries of imagination is the goal of any innovative company. And that seems to be the raison d'être for MC10. The Cambridge, MA, firm makes flexible, stretchable electronics that aim to transform historically rigid devices into something easily wearable and, in some cases, virtually invisible.

MC10 is developing consumer, digital health, and medical device applications of its platform technology. In the medtech world, the company is attempting to give interventional catheters a high-tech makeover by fitting sensors at their tips. This helps the catheters measure everything from temperature to electrophysiological data, and when used in conjunction with RF electrodes, they can also ablate tissue.

Further, MC10 is developing small skin patches that can monitor patients, store information, and deliver drugs as needed. This could have implications for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The patch, only a few centimeters wide and the thickness of two sheets of paper, is built in layers that contain a sensor, a drug layer infused in an adhesive layer, and a memory module. When attached to skin, the sensors can detect when they are stretched because of skin movement caused by muscle tension. The frequency of this stretching enables the sensors to detect whether it was a normal movement or was caused by a tremor. The patch can then record this data and, if necessary, release drugs to manage any tremors.

It is a testament to MC10’s capabilities that drug companies like Novartis and device companies like Medtronic have invested in the company.